Hedge funds posted their second-best monthly performance of the year in September, rising nearly 2%.

The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index added 1.97% on the month, its best performance since back in January, when it returned 2.64%. The jump left the benchmark up 8.58% on the year.

Healthcare and technology funds led the way, the former rising 4.72% on the month (25.89% year-to-date) and the latter 4.57% (13.25% YTD). Opportunistic funds also did well, jumping 3.77% (13.91% YTD).

Short-biased funds plummeted a further 7.65% in September, leaving them down an average of 24.49% for the year. Convertible arbitrage funds dropped 0.66% (up 4.84% YTD) and fixed-income funds shed 0.04% (up 2.22% YTD).

Editor's Note

In our new section, FINtech Focus, we will profile one of these firms each week. While fintech is a broad category, we will be focusing on firms that specifically cater to the alternative investment industry. Read more…